The “Course Topics” series from Manage Train Learn and Slide Topics is a collection of over 4000 slides that will help you master a wide range of management and personal development skills. The 202 PowerPoints in this series offer you a complete and in-depth study of each topic. This presentation is on "Being Fair".

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Being Fair
Recruitment and Selection
MTL Course Topics
RECRUITMENT AND
SELECTION
Being Fair

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Being Fair
Recruitment and Selection
MTL Course Topics
The Course Topics series from Manage Train Learn is a large collection of topics that will help you as a learner
to quickly and easily master a range of skills in your everyday working life and life outside work. If you are a
trainer, they are perfect for adding to your classroom courses and online learning plans.
COURSE TOPICS FROM MTL
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Being Fair
Recruitment and Selection
MTL Course Topics
ARE YOU READY?
OK, LET’S START!

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Being Fair
Recruitment and Selection
MTL Course Topics
INTRODUCTION
Selection and recruitment is severely hampered if we are
blinkered about the kind of people who can do a job. This is
often the case when a certain type of person, say a middle-
aged man in an executive position, or a part-time female in
an unskilled position, has done a job for a long time and
done it well. When the time comes to replace them, we
believe that only the same type of person will do. Blinkered
selection is limited selection and potentially discriminatory
as well. When we discriminate against candidates because
of who they are, rather than because of what they can do,
we seriously restrict our choices, harm our business and
offend candidates. The only kind of discrimination in
recruitment and selection should be discrimination in favour
of those who can do the job.

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Being Fair
Recruitment and Selection
MTL Course Topics
DISCRIMINATION
Both prejudice and discrimination are attitudes and actions
directed towards others because they belong - or seem to
belong - to certain groups.
prejudice is "a disposition to think, feel and behave
negatively towards other people on the basis of group
membership“
1. direct discrimination in recruitment occurs when we
prevent people from applying for, being shortlisted for,
being considered for and being appointed for a position
on the basis of group membership
2. indirect discrimination occurs when conditions exist
which make it harder for people from any group to
compete equally with others
Direct and indirect discrimination on the basis of sex, race
and disability are illegal in most industrialized countries.

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Recruitment and Selection
MTL Course Topics
THE MYTHS
Many of the assumptions we commonly hold about people
from disadvantaged groups have the status of fact:
1. people from certain ethnic groups - West Indian and
African - do not share the same attitude to work as
developed countries do
2. women are less reliable at work than men because of
the conflict between work and home
3. disabled people can never do a physical job as well as
able-bodied people
4. older people take longer to learn new ideas; under 18's
are unreliable
5. homosexual men and women are more promiscuous
than heterosexuals
6. men are always physically stronger than women
7. Asian families are more thrifty than European families
8. people reach a performance plateau in late middle age
9. once a criminal, always a criminal.

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Recruitment and Selection
MTL Course Topics
THE FACTS
Contrary to many of our popular assumptions about
disadvantaged groups, the facts are that in developed
countries...
1. among 18-29 year olds, black Africans and Indians are
more likely than white people to have higher and
further education qualifications
2. girls now out-perform boys at school
3. women are expected to make up nearly half of the
workforce
4. one in five women are choosing not to have children
5. 70% of disabled people in work became disabled while
at work
6. at the start of this decade, nearly one in three people in
the workforce will be aged over 40
7. one in three men under 30 have criminal records
8. the number of people aged between 25 and 34 will
drop by 21%.

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Being Fair
Recruitment and Selection
MTL Course Topics
DISCRIMINATION & BUSINESS
Direct and indirect discrimination as well as unconscious
and unaware discrimination are bad management and
business practices. This is because...
1. they are illogical. You cannot logically apply beliefs
about groups to all individuals in the group.
2. they are based on fear. When looked at rationally,
discrimination is often based on fears on our part eg
fear of upsetting others in the workforce.
3. they are morally untenable and blatantly unfair
4. they encourage divisions in society which can only be
bad for stable businesses
5. they are bad management.
Evidence shows that organisations which practice fair
recruitment and equal opportunities are more attractive
and better regarded than those that don't.

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Recruitment and Selection
MTL Course Topics
SEX DISCRIMINATION
Many cultures view the role of men and women as being
distinctly different. Traditionally, men are breadwinners and
women are child-rearers and homemakers.
Out of the deep cultural changes of the last thirty years,
these stereotypes have been successfully challenged and
changed. Sex discrimination legislation in many countries
outlaws unfair treatment of men and women because of
their sex and equal pay legislation supports the right of
women and men doing like or similar work to be paid the
same.
Despite these moves, changes do not happen overnight.
Women still earn on average less than men, are found more
frequently in lower-status occupations and appear much
less often in boardrooms and in management.

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Recruitment and Selection
MTL Course Topics
RACIAL DISCRIMINATION
In our multicultural world, the mix of ethnic origins in
developed countries is increasing all the time. Ethnic origin
can be defined as belonging to a different race, creed,
colour, nationality or ethnic background from the majority
population.
Legislation exists in most developed countries outlawing
discrimination of ethnic minorities in employment. It tends
to be similar to legislation in the treatment of men and
women.
Despite legislation and improvement in some areas,
unemployment rates are still higher for ethnic groups than
whites, often by as much as three times (eg Asian women)
and surveys continue to show that it is harder for some
groups to find work than others. Despite these moves,
changes do not happen overnight.

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Recruitment and Selection
MTL Course Topics
BROWN EYES, BLUE EYES
In a classical experiment in America in the 1960's, a small
town school decided to show their eight-year-olds just what
it felt like to be discriminated against.
On the morning of the experiment, the teacher told the
class that it was a fact that all children with blue eyes were
more intelligent than those without blue eyes. Those with
blue eyes would thus be accorded privileges denied to the
rest.
Very quickly, the non-blue-eyed children were bullied and
mistreated and their performance declined. The blue-eyed
children's performance however improved.
A few days later the teacher announced that she had been
mistaken and that it was those with brown eyes who were
better. Not surprisingly, the roles were reversed and
prejudice emerged in those who had previously been
victims.

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Recruitment and Selection
MTL Course Topics
DISABILITY
In most developed countries, disability discrimination now
exists in line with sex and race discrimination. As a guide,
legislation tends to define an employee's disability as a
physical impairment or mental condition that is long-term
(12 months or more) and has a substantial effect on the
person's day-to-day activities.
While there are still barriers for some people with
disabilities, many notable people, such as the blind Labour
politician David Blunkett and the late paraplegic Oxford
professor, Stephen Hawking, achieved outstanding success
in their chosen fields despite their disabilities.
According to a study by P. Prescott-Clarke, people with
disabilities have the same productivity as the general
population, a lower sickness and absentee rate and a better
safety record.

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Recruitment and Selection
MTL Course Topics
CHANGING THE WORDS
Attitudes towards disability are often reflected in the
language we use. Although often derided as "political
correctness", neutral words can change the attitudes that
come with patronising and pitying terms. Check your own
terms in this list.
1. instead of saying "spastic", say "people with cerebral
palsy"
2. instead of saying "cerebral palsy sufferers", say "palsied"
3. instead of saying "the disabled, the handicapped, the
afflicted, the crippled or the incapacitated", say "people
with disabilities"
4. instead of saying "the deaf", say "people with hearing
disabilities"
5. instead of saying "the mentally-handicapped", say
"people with learning difficulties"
6. instead of saying "normal", say "the able-bodied".

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Recruitment and Selection
MTL Course Topics
EX-OFFENDERS
There is no discrimination legislation that prevents you from
selecting or not selecting ex-offenders. However, in certain
developed countries, legislation exists that allows an ex-
offender to not disclose details of offences that have
elapsed after a certain period of time (eg for a prison
sentence of up to six months, after seven years).
Exceptions to this rule are made in certain categories, such
as national security work, work with vulnerable groups -
children, the old, the disabled - and self-regulatory
organisations.
In these cases, criminal certificates can be obtained giving
details of unspent convictions.
These are crucial to registered employers in high-risk
employments. In some countries, employers may have
access to criminal records through a Criminal Records
Bureau.

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Recruitment and Selection
MTL Course Topics
AGEISM
Age discrimination was one of the last areas of
discrimination to be tackled by many developed countries.
Much of the origin of ageism is rooted in cultural
stereotyping, believing that the so-called "prime-time
frame" of 28 to 38 produces the best job candidates. Even
where there is no legislation, age restrictions can imply
other unlawful discrimination. In the case of Price vs the
Civil Service in the UK, an upper age limit of 28 for an
executive officer position was found to discriminate unfairly
against women who could not compete equally with men of
the same age.
Current research shows that of the 9.3 million people in the
UK between 50 and 64, 39% are unemployed. One third of
men reach pension age without a job.

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Recruitment and Selection
MTL Course Topics
OLDER WORKERS
It is being increasingly recognised that there is little to be
gained and much to be lost in targeting recruits from a
restricted age group. With demographic changes resulting in
an ageing labour market, it makes no business sense to
restrict applicants unnecessarily to one age range. This
lesson has already been learnt by many organisations:
1. do-it-yourself retailers B & Q were one of the first to
positively recruit older workers and retain those nearing
retirement age. They say it works.
2. stationery chain W H Smith found that turnover rates
were much lower amongst older workers, a significant
advantage when 1% of turnover costs them £800,000
3. grocery supermarket Sainsbury's found that the
experience and natural courtesy of older people
reflected their customer base and so boosted their
customer care profile.

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Recruitment and Selection
MTL Course Topics
OTHER GROUPS
Depending on the culture and history of a society, other
groups may be discriminated against in terms of
employment opportunities.
In Northern Ireland, for example, legislation exists to
prevent discrimination on religious lines (the Fair
Employment Act 1989). In other cultures and geographical
areas, there may be local discrimination against people on
grounds of perhaps sexual orientation, being divorced, the
area someone lives in.
As recruiters, it is important to be aware of the remnants of
cultural bias in ourselves and others who manage people
and to question those assumptions as a first step towards
personal change.

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Recruitment and Selection
MTL Course Topics
MANAGING DIVERSITY
There is a range of interpretations to what organisations
understand by "equal opportunities" from passive measures
and lip service at one extreme to actively managing diversity
at the other.
Passive measures include:
1. the attitude that "there is no problem here"
2. doing the minimum necessary to avoid a legal challenge
3. pussy-footing for fear of upsetting the majority
workforce.
Active measures include:
1. identifying barriers to equal access and removing them
2. setting targets and monitoring progress towards them
3. taking positive action.
In many organisations, active measures to overcome
discrimination amount to a major cultural change.

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Recruitment and Selection
MTL Course Topics
POSITIVE ACTION
None of the legislation aimed at reducing discrimination
allows for discrimination in favour of certain groups. This
would be socially divisive and unfair on the majority.
However, positive action to create equal access and an
equal share of opportunities is allowed and encouraged. It
could include steps such as:
1. guaranteed interviews for under-represented groups if
they meet job requirements
2. priority being given to under-represented groups where
more than one candidate meets the job criteria
3. letting under-represented groups know of your
vacancies
4. compiling a database of interested people from under-
represented groups
5. amending conditions of employment to allow more
opportunities to disadvantaged groups (eg crèches for
mothers; job share; wheelchair access).

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Recruitment and Selection
MTL Course Topics
CASE LAW
In two landmark UK tribunal cases - those involving Mrs
Boyd and Mrs Hay - serious shortcomings were found in the
way some employers recruited staff.
Mrs Hay failed to obtain a job as a lecturer at a further
education college even though she had eight years'
experience. The job went to a man with three years'
experience. The college unsuccessfully argued that the man
had industrial experience but no mention of this was made
in the advert or job specification.
Mrs Boyd was beaten to promotion to Senior Collector in a
council Finance Department by a man who had much less
experience of the work than she had. Since they were both
internal candidates, the interviewing panel professed to
know them so well that they prepared no questions, spent
less than 15 minutes each with them and afterwards could
not remember what they had asked each candidate.

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Recruitment and Selection
MTL Course Topics
GOOD PRACTICE
As a result of unfair discrimination cases in tribunals in the
1970's and 80's, recommendations were made on what
constituted good recruiting practice. They include the
following Do's and Don'ts:
1. Do have a recruitment policy in writing
2. Do train everyone who might recruit
3. Do keep the same team throughout the process
4. Do have an accurate job advert
5. Do ask each candidate the same job-related questions
6. Do keep a record of decisions about each candidate.
7. Don't introduce new conditions during the process
8. Don't entertain on-spec enquiries
9. Don't change criteria to fit a candidate
10. Don't take into account what you already know about
the candidate.

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Recruitment and Selection
MTL Course Topics
GENUINE QUALIFICATIONS
Anti-discrimination legislation does allow recruiters to
appoint someone on the grounds of sex or race if it is a
Genuine Occupational Qualification (a GOQ).
Good reasons must exist for the GOQ: in the case of a racial
GOQ, an example might be a job which provides special
services for racial groups (for example, an ethnic social
worker). In the case of a sex GOQ, examples may arise
where a man or woman is required because of decency (a
ladies toilet attendant, perhaps), privacy or authenticity (a
model or actor, perhaps).
To use a GOQ and specify that you are seeking someone
with a particular ethnic background or a man as opposed to
a woman, recruiters should seek clearance from the
Department of Employment.

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Recruitment and Selection
MTL Course Topics
MONITORING PROGRESS
Equal opportunities policies should be regularly monitored
to ensure that positive action is creating the desired result.
1. establish a starting point by drawing up a picture of how
groups are currently distributed
2. set targets based on realistic representation levels.
These may reflect the distribution of people in your
locality or type of business.
3. introduce a data collection system that is simple and
direct. This can include audits, snapshots,
questionnaires and data on job applicants themselves.
4. take appropriate action to move towards targets.
As an example, Xerox, the photocopier and digital printer
company, plans to increase its proportion of women in top
management positions to 20% by the year 2010.

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Recruitment and Selection
MTL Course Topics
ON DIVERSITY
"I believe that diversity is the natural order of things - as
natural as the trillion shapes and shades of the flowers of
spring or leaves of autumn. I believe that diversity brings
new solutions to an ever-changing environment and that
sameness is not only uninteresting but limiting.
To deny diversity is to deny life with all its richness and
manifold opportunities. Thus I affirm my responsibility to be
tolerant. Live and let live.
Understand that those who cause no harm should not be
feared, ridiculed or harmed - even if they are different. Look
for the best in others. Be just in my dealings with poor and
rich, weak and strong and whenever possible defend the
young, the old, the frail, the defenceless. Be kind,
remembering how fragile the human spirit is. Live the
examined life, subjecting my motives and actions to the
serenity of mind and heart, so to rise above prejudice and
hate. Care." (Gene Griessman)

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Recruitment and Selection
MTL Course Topics
THAT’S
IT!
WELL DONE!

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Recruitment and Selection
MTL Course Topics
THANK YOU
This has been a Slide Topic from Manage Train Learn